Can music be both dark and bright? I ask lead vocalist Kelly Barnes as we are setting up her photo shoot in the bathroom of one of my favorite bars. Darkbird’s deliciously dark music makes you face the cobwebs of your mind with both sarcasm and energy, but where did that name come from? “We were going back and forth with so many names,” she says, hitching herself up on the bathroom sink. “Some were funny, some were stupid, and for a minute we were calling the band “Shut up Kelly” – we also liked ‘This Party Sucks.” Their music is admittedly more serious than those names were conveying, so they didn’t stick. Then one day on a drive to San Antonio, Kelly saw an enormous group of black birds. “A huge flock flew over me on 35,” she says, “so I sent a message to Brian – Darkbird – that was it.”

Synth/guitar player Brian Cole takes a sip of his beer and Letitia asks him to tilt his frame towards her as she shoots them through the bathroom mirror. Through conversation during the photo shoot, we learn that while Kelly grew up in Las Vegas, her family is from Texas, and she spent summers here. She moved to Austin from Los Angeles about six years ago. Brian’s roots were Midwestern before making his way to Austin via Queens. While Austin is a well-known melting pot where good musicians come together to pursue their passions and to create, I grew curious about how these two dark birds met.

“We met through craigslist,” Kelly said, with a nod from Brian. “We were both looking for a new project. When you’ve gassed all your friends, that’s (craigslist) where you go. It’s 90% shit. It’s the worst. It’s funny when you weave through everyone’s responses. I was avoiding words that said ‘funky’ or ‘lets jam and see what happens’ – Brian had links to his music, and I liked what he was doing, so I reached out to him.” Kelly sent Brian some links to her previous Los Angeles based band Ragsy. Soon thereafter, they decided to form their band.

“If you’re an artist, it just chooses you,” says Kelly. “Who wants to be an artist? Unless you’re parents are already doing it… If you’re an artist – you just have to do it.” Brian adds: “If you do it (your art) you suffer, but if you don’t, you suffer too.”

If you’ve listened to Darkbird before, you might be in for a surprise with their newest sound. The thoughtful lyrics are coupled with a brighter shade of black. The artists remind me that their music will constantly be changing, as they seek different sources of expression and creativity within their craft. The band members pull inspiration from the Pixies, Liz Phair, Fleetwood Mac, early Smashing Pumpkins, and Dr. Dog. Their song Marching Ballad is perhaps the most striking song they’ve written. “We’ve written it 3 times,” says Kelly. “It’s the first song that Brian and I worked together to try things out in his studio. He played a song he arranged and I sang over it. We are just now releasing it – it’s moving, definitive of the band.”

I had a few more questions for Brian and Kelly before it was time to wrap the shoot and head back to Kitty Cohen’s for a venue meeting.

What is your song-writing process like?

Kelly: Brian and I get together, work out a skeleton of a song, and try to get a verse and a chorus with guitars and vocal melody. Then we introduce it to the band and go from there. It’s fast.

Brian: If it’s not just happening and working in the first 5-10 minutes, then we scrap it. If we don’t agree immediately, we move on.

Do you have advice for other musicians who are just starting out?

Kelly: Keep writing – the first stuff you do is not always the best stuff you’re going to do. Don’t try to talk your other band mates into your idea. Never accept mediocrity – if you don’t love the song, throw it away. A new idea will come. Don’t beat a dead horse. There is no room for mediocrity in the arts - we see plenty of it – if you want integrity. … in fact, that’s good advice for life in general..

Alan Eckert’s dreams of playing music professionally started early, growing up in a family of musicians. “I started playing drums when I was ten years old and it took off really fast,” the musician shares. “It was naturally my instrument and right away it was something I knew I would want to do forever.” Alan played in marching and jazz band all through high school, plus rock bands with his friends. He played piano more as a teenager, when he began writing as well.

“My parents and my sister are musicians, so it’s a family thing,” Alan shares. His father is a saxophone professor and the Director of Jazz studies at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, while his mother was a singer. “So it was cool to get the spark to play jazz from my Dad and also to realize eventually that I had a good enough voice to sing and write songs. That definitely comes from my mom’s side of the gene pool,” Alan shares. His sister Elizabeth Eckert-Ross is also musically inclined. Based out of New York, she recently shot a music video for The Deer, one of Alan’s bands.

Originally from Stephens City, Virginia, Alan made his way to Austin after attending the University of North Texas’s jazz program on scholarship in Denton. “Everyone kept telling me I should move down here,” Alan shares. He joined a band called Dimitri’s Ascent which paved the way for his move to Austin. “I had drum and piano students, took a leap of faith, and immersed myself in the Austin music scene. I played with Jack Wilson, Rebecca Loebe, and I had a lot of friends that gave me gigs.”

The Alan Eckert Trio is comprised of Colin Shook on piano, Daniel Durham on bass, and Alan Eckert on drums. The trio is mainly instrumental jazz, “but we make it funky, and something you can dance to, while also being intricate,” Alan explains. “The cool thing about the trio is that we take the beat from a modern hip hop tune and put it to a jazz standard, so we play the melody of the jazz standard to the rhythm of something modern." Get a feel for the Alan Eckert Trio here.

Alan says a lot of his influences come from “a weird combination of some of the latest hip hop and some of the latest indie rock, and indie pop. One day I’ll listen to Hamilton Leithauser, then Kendrick Lamar, but I also spend a lot of time transcribing and listening to Tribe called Quest, and all the jazz standards: Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Joe Henderson, and Horace Silver.”

One of the most frequent compliments Alan receives is about his smile and how much fun he is having when he’s on drums. I asked if he had any advice for other musicians starting out and what could keep them smiling. “Absolutely,” he says. “First: Never stop practicing. But also, one of the most important things you can do is to go hang out and see as much music as possible in whatever city you’re in. The most important thing is to make friends and learn from everyone else around you. Eventually you will see you have a lot to offer those friends as well. Its’ a cyclical thing – you can’t just sit in your practice room and become proficient at your instrument. You have to go out and challenge yourself socially, you have to branch out and start gigging. In order to survive as a musician you have to meet people, be a social creature, constantly play with new people, and constantly put your name out there.”

In Alan’s immediate future, The Deer have a big show coming up at Mohawk June 23rd. with Kalu and Electric Joint, and Batty Jr. (link to fb event). “The Deer have been playing like crazy, and in the midst of that touring, we finished our 4th album that will be out in the next year,” Alan shares. He also recently recorded an album with Jay Stiles (who plays with A-Town Getdown and Patrice Pike).

Letitia is pulling lighting equipment around the bar with her chai-royale as I’m setting up my laptop and realizing I haven’t eaten yet. We’re setting up for another round of Side Project Sunday interviews. Mike St. Clair walks in with his brown nylon pants, vintage shirt and trademark glasses. The three of us loosely huddle around a table to connect about his upcoming show and recent big wins. I ask: “I think the main question everyone wants to know – is – who is Pocket Sounds?”

Like many great bands, Pocket Sounds has had an evolution of artists involved. They describe the music as ethereal and imaginative cinematic soundscapes that are engaging, funky, and rocky with that warm Wilco-esque tone. The performers who played together as Pocket Sounds last year, have taken a new form, and the new Pocket Sounds has emerged with a recent record release at Mohawk with their album You are Not Alone. The record name comes from one of the tracks, which St. Clair says is about depression. “I don’t think it’s a sad song, though,” Mike says. “It just gives different perspectives on the topic.”

This inspires discussion about music, and art, and how everything created is up for listener-interpretation, and how your own interpretation can change within the song-writing process. Letitia’s favorite track on the new record is Fickle Breeze, which the Austin Music Minute has aired on KUTX. Mine is 7 + 0, which I thought was about relationships. “It’s about sports,” Mike corrects me, we laugh, “but it can be about whatever you want it to be." 7 + 0 was featured in a film called High and Outside…”which is rad,” says St. Clair, “because it premiered first at Raindance in London, and then at the Austin Film Fest for the U.S. Premier. They used a little bit of the instrumental part of Chase too.” 7 + 0 isn’t the only song hopeful for film-play. St. Clair’s song Safety Dance will also be featured in a film that is currently under production.

The tracks on You Are Not Alone include: 7 + 0, Fickle Breeze, The Chase, Julian, and You Are Not Alone. “We don’t have the full line up from the record release this Sunday, because a couple of people are on tour (Marcus Maurice and Mark Henne). But this Sunday the line up includes: Jeff Olson on drums/vibraphones, Ethan Kennedy on guitar, Paul Deemer on synthesizer and trombone, and Mike St. Clair on bass, vocals, and keys,” says Mike.

Each of the artists playing with Pocket Sounds this Sunday has a rich history within the music industry. Jeff recently toured with Balmorhea, and Austin-local a six-piece minimalist instrumental ensemble formed by Rob Lowe and Michael Muller in 2006. He’s played with Batty Jr, and Food Group, and he’s also played with St. Clair before in White Denim. Ethan plays regularly with Suzanna Choffel and was formerly involved with Kinky Machine. Paul played with St. Clair in Polyphonic Spree, subs with Grupo Fantasma, and played in Progger.

Here is an excerpt from a previous interview with St. Clair that gives his musical background:

Mike St. Clair grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina playing music. Starting with the violin when he was five years old, he took lessons for six years or so. After he grew frustrated feeling a little in over his head on violin in the all-city orchestra, he switched to trombone in the middle school band ultimately adding guitar to his musical repertoire. Mike attended music school, playing the trombone and bass in Greensboro, North Carolina where he received a music education degree. “I went on to study jazz at the University of North Texas in Denton and graduated with a Master’s degree,” Mike shared.

He went on the road for the first time with the Glen Miller Orchestra. “It was a really good experience,” … “It was a bunch of musicians traveling around in a greyhound bus,” he recalled. “The band was a merge of all the jazz I had been studying with big band sounds and pop songs.” This was around 2005. Once he returned from touring with the Glen Miller Orchestra he was invited to play trombone with Polyphonic Spree. “That was my first European tour,” Mike said. “We had two buses, and a lot of the musicians had their families with them. There were at least two dozen people making music with us on that tour.” They had a full choir, percussion and drums, horns, and strings. Mike is not a full time band member but still plays Polyphonic Spree shows from time to time. “I fill in on trumpet or trombone.” The band’s most notable song is Light and Day. “I’m on three of their records, but I’m not on that recording,” he clarified. Two other notable bands Mike has toured and recorded with include: Okkervil River and currently White Denim. St. Clair moved to Austin with a jam band called Nelo. After Nelo ran it’s course, he played with Terry Cavanaugh and the Alpine Express.”

After the show this Sunday at Kitty Cohen’s you can catch Pocket Sounds opening for Polyphonic Spree June 3rd at Baracuda, and find Mike on the East coast this summer. He’s hoping to take Pocket Sounds on the road late July as well, and we're hoping to follow them around on a road trip.

Side Project Sundays is excited to have Night Glitter back on the stage this week. You may recognize LouLou Ooldouz Ghelichkhani from her work with Thievery Corporation, Midnight Kids, and Bonefur, while John Michael Schoepf plays with Roky Erickson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Hayes Carll, and The Happen-Ins. They are currently working on their newest synth pop , trip hop, psychedelic rock and roll project: Night Glitter. They recently recorded a single with Adrian Quesada at his studio, with a few surprise guest appearances that is expected to release May 16th.

Born in Hockley, Texas, John Micheal moved to Austin in 2003. LouLou came to Austin nearly a decade later after living in California, Iran, Paris, and Washington D.C. "We moved a lot because of my dad's soccer days and politics," she says. Both musicians started playing in their late teens.

LouLou looks to Brigitte Fontaine, Brian Eno, David Bowie, James Brown, Neil Young, the Beatles, StereoLab, and Broadcast for inspiration. For John Michael, creativity is drawn from Brian Eno, The Rolling Stones, Poly Rythmo, Chuck Berry, and George Harrison. "We could go on ...we love music, and there are so many incredible heroes out there," says LouLou.

What is your song-writing process like?We write separate or all together... it all depends on the inspiration..if its words or melody first. We have had a really great time blocking off a whole day/ night to jam in our home studio and record everything...then you can go back and see if you really like anything a few days later...if there are any real songs hidden in hours of spaced out jams.

What lyrics, or songs would you like to be remembered as playing/writing? Or what have been some of your most popular songs over the years?LouLou: I think with Thievery , my most popular song has been Sweet Tides, which I wrote about the changes I went through with motherhood and my faith in general.John Michael : the Happenins: Let you go :)

Do you have advice for other musicians who are just starting out?Take your time, Follow your instincts.

What is your favorite place to eat in Austin?Loulou: KomeJohn Michael: Tacodeli ( and at home, LouLou is an incredible cook )

What is your birthday/zodiac sign?Night Glitter is a perfect blend of Sagittarius, Taurus and Gemini's.

Where do you see yourself musically in 5 years?Touring all over the world, with an incredible team <3

What do you get when a Leo from Fairbanks, a Gemini from Seattle, and a Scorpio from Houston get together to play old-time bluegrass music? You get the enchanting trio of The Frauleins: Beth Chrisman (fiddle & banjo), Amanda Chisholm (bass), Jenn Miori Hodges (guitar).

"I lived all over the place growing up - my dad was in the Army until we moved to Fairbanks, Alaska in 1996," says Beth. "My family is still there, so its still home. I came to Austin in 2006 to visit a friend and a few weeks after I got here, I had my folks send me a bunch of my stuff and I stayed. I'd heard about the music scene here, but I didn't really come here with the intention of pursuing a music career, my main goal was to escape -50F and get some sunshine!" Beth met Amanda playing Bluegrass when she was living in Juneau, Alaska in her twenties. When she was ready to move, she came to Austin to visit Beth and Jenn and knew that Austin was her new forever home. Jenn made the trek from Houston to Austin to attend the University of Texas. Besides music, one thing the ladies are in harmony about is where to eat: Maudie's! Their interview is below, and be sure to come to the show Sunday, 4/29 3:30p-5:30p at Kitty Cohen's.

When did you start playing music?Beth: I started playing violin when I was 9, and studied classical violin in college. When I was 19 I met a few great songwriters, bluegrass, and old-time pickers and started digging into the world of alt-country and bluegrass.

Amanda: I taught myself Bluegrass bass playing along to The Stanely Brothers albums and picking in living rooms during the dead of winter in Alaska about ten years ago.

Jenn: I’ve been singing as long as I can remember but started guitar at 12. I became obsessed with old country music in my early 20s.

What are some bands you have played in over the years, and what are your current music projects/bands?Beth: My main project while I've been in Austin was the Carper Family. I also played regularly with James Hand, High Plains Jamboree, Brennen Leigh, Devin Jake, Silas Lowe, Mike & the Moonpies, Jenny & the Corn Ponies. In 2016 I was one of the featured songwriters in Project ATX6, and after that experience I decided to start my own country band, Missy Beth & the Morning Afters.

Amanda: The Primetime Ramblers was my first Bluegrass band in Austin, followed by The Jankies, and now along with the Frauleins I play pick up bass with The Bluegrass Outfit at closed Bluegrass jams around town. I also regularly play Wednesdays at the Hard Luck Lounge - I invite different friends I've played with over the years (or people I've always wanted to play with) to do a song swap and I play fiddle with them.

Jenn: The Carper Family, Hem and Haw, the Muttonbusters and Jenny and the Corn Ponies are past projects that still play now and again.

What are some of your heroes in the music industry and/or inspirations?Beth: Amanda & Jenn covered a bunch of my favorites below... but also: Ginny Hawker & Tracy Schwarz - early country & traditional mountain singing duo. Ginny's singing makes me cry everytime I hear her, she really puts every drop of feeling she has into the songs she performs. Tracy is a legendary fiddler, played with the New Lost City Ramblers and Dewey Balfa, backed up Maybelle Carter. They've long been heroes of mine, and I've gotten to know them really well over the years - last time they were in town I took them out honkytonkin at the White Horse. Also Cindy Cashdollar - steel & dobro player who used to live here in Austin, she taught me a lot about being a side player and a woman in this industry. Lindsey Verrill & Christy Hays are badass local babes that make beautiful art and music and inspire me to keep on plugging along in this music world. Locally on the industry end of things- lots of love to Denis O'Donnell, Marshall McHone, Samantha Phelps, Kevin Curtain, HAAM & SIMS.

Amanda: I truly cherish the really outstanding pickers and musicians in our little scene in Austin that share their knowledge about playing out and have learned so much not only from Jenn and Beth but also from Silas Lowe, Matt Downing, Dom Fisher, Tony Kamel, Jerry Haggins, Ben Hodges, Bradford Folk, and so many others.

Jenn: Anna and Elizabeth, an old-time duo, are super inspiring to me. Their fascination with historic folk music is contagious and they blend old ballads with modern art. Also, Loretta Lynn 4ever! She was my first country inspiration. I’m a huge fan of Connie Smith too. Anna and Elizabeth, Foghorn Stringband, Birdcloud, Pharis and Jason Romero

What is your song-writing process like?Beth: I haven't been a very prolific songwriter lately, but I tend to write when my life is in turmoil and have lots of alone time. Things have been pretty good lately - so no new songs. I also have been cooped up in the city with too much technology around. Most of my songs were written pulled off on the side of some remote highway or in a cabin in the woods in Alaska. I get an idea for a line (usually with a melody attached) then noodle on the guitar and pull out my notebook and start writing a story. I take a few hours to tighten things up, and usually end up altering a few lines or words.

What lyrics, or songs would you like to be remembered as playing/writing? Or what have been some of your most popular songs over the years?

Beth: I think my favorite one is "Cold, Dark & Lonely" - that came out of the miserable winter right before I moved to Texas. I was so broken-hearted and down then, but now it makes me feel kind of at peace since things are better. also - that song has really gone over well in Norway - the Carper Family toured in Norway a bunch, and last time I played there were a few times where at least half the crowd was singing along with it, and now my Norwegian friends cover it in their band.

I'd love to be remembered for keeping the traditional music rolling along and playing the songs of women who blazed the trail for all of us playing now.

Amanda: Beth and Jenn are so good at finding those rare old tunes that might have been forgotten about, or just fallen off everyone's radar. I also think the songs of strong and amazing women like Hazel Dickens, Alice Gerrard, and Ola Belle Reed should be heard by more people. I feel really proud to be able to play these powerful songs in front of an audience.

Jenn: One of my favorite songs to sing that I’ve recorded is an old tune called the Late Evening Blues. I learned it from a 1940s radio transcription of the Carter sisters. I love to give new life to old forgotten songs.

Do you have advice for other musicians who are just starting out?Beth: Seek out mentors especially ones who will give you constructive criticism AND encouragement. Find people that are into music you love and are a good hang and start a band with them. I learned this from the Wilders (band from Kansas City) gigs should be at least 2 outta 3 of the following: good for your career, good for your pocketbook, good for your soul. Otherwise something isn't going right. If you're playing with people who are fun to hang out with, you're already on the right track.

Amanda: Practice, listen more then speak, take care of one another, always play the route note if you forget where you are in a song.

Jenn: Play a weekly residency somewhere (anywhere) for a year or two. The pay may suck but you get to work on your sound and it kind of forces you to keep learning new material. You’ll also meet a lot of people that way and develop a little fan club who’ll love you forever.

Where do you see yourself musically in 5 years?Beth: to quote Willie - "the life I love is making music with my friends, and I can't wait to get on the road again."

Amanda: Gigging and laughing with the Frauleins, hopefully touring in Alaska or Norway

Jenn: I hope to be playing around Texas with the Frauleins and dream of going to some European summer Festivals!

Ask any of the musicians in MidCentury what genre would describe their music, and you'll get a different answer. Eric describes it as Post-New-Old-Wave Indie Rock, while Alex says its uplifting, smart, adventurous, nostalgic pop/rock and Paul views their music as new wave, indie, rock, pop, blue wave. "I sit all over the spectrum when it comes to genre," says lead voals/guitarist Bruce. "I started out playing heavier music, gravitated towards soul, jazz, and psychedelic music. At heart I’m an emo kid trying to find the perfect combination of all of the genres" Then there's Butch who says: "Haha....uhhh.... For me personally, I'm going to quote Roger Waters when asked a similar question. "Rock N Roll" And finally Leslie says it can't be categorized: "I'm a musical chameleon."

Come listen to MidCentury to decide for yourself how best to describe the melting pot of their music, this Sunday, 4/22 at Kitty Cohen's from 3:30p-5:30p. An interview with the artists is below and you can listen to "Foul Play" (Song Link) to get a sample of what you'll hear this Sunday.

Where are you from? / When did you move to Austin and why?Bruce: Originally from Massachusetts, but went to high school in Florida. Came to austin six years ago in search of better opportunities and like minds.

Eric: I came from the dusty West Texas town of Lubbock in 2008. I moved here with my then girlfriend, now wife, Hailey. I had just graduated with a sound technology degree and she was enrolled at the art institute. I wanted to work in a studio and get into the music scene.

Butch: Born and raised in Batesville, IN. Moved here after college to pursuit music!

Leslie: Nashville. I've been in ATX for about 8 years and I moved here for the best of reasons: young love.

Alex: St. Louis. Moved to Austin (by way of Bloomington IN) in 2013 to grow Wonderbitch and challenge ourselves, but also be surrounded by sun and avocados.

Paul: Santa Barbara, CA. Moved to Austin in 2010 to further music opportunities, escape the bubble of my hometown, and live somewhere new that gave me a different view on people/culture/lifestyle.

image by White Light Exposure

When did you start playing music?Bruce: Ive been playing music in some capacity since I was 7 or 8. Been in bands gigging since age 15.

Eric: Brandon Bartee convinced me to play bass in french class in 8th grade. My mom was a teacher at the school; we went to her classroom to asked if she would buy me a bass. We went shopping that day after school. My mom is rad! Brandon Bartee was the best 14 year old guitar player you’ve ever seen. I haven’t seen him in 15 years.

Butch: Since I was 16 (2002).

Leslie: In the womb.

Alex: Like 5 years old.

Paul: Started classical piano/theory at age 6, guitar at age 13.

What are some bands you have played in over the years, and what are your current music projects/bands?Bruce: My first band was called Fidelity Crisis. After that I was in a number of other bands: Episodes, Nine Tales, Turncloak, Empire Machines, and currently active with Wonderbitch and Midcentury.

Eric: The first band that I saw a lot of the country with was called Eighties Combat. We existed in the glow of the early 2000s emo-pop-punk craze. Moved to Illinois to join the band Punch Drunk. We toured and were generally a bunch of hooligans. Fast forward to Austin years later, Paul and I met in a band called Fine Lion(he didn’t mention it). We both ended up leaving for similar reasons. When Bruce and I started this project I immediately thought about Paul. Midcentury is my main squeeze now. I work with a wide range of artists in my studio. Mike, my studio partner, and I end up playing a lot of different instruments while producing and recording records.

Butch: Drunk Uncle ChuckWestern Kinsmen of the Sun (not the Aussie outfit)Gardendale & BerkleyThe Vorticists and a spattering of other original and cover projects. Currently working with Wonderbitch and Midcentury.

Leslie: I have played/done album work with local projects Sweet Spirit and A Giant Dog, as well as some other small gigs. Currently, I am 100% MidCentury.

Paul: Toured for 2.5 years after high school with a band called Holden, played synth in a Faith No More tribute band called Woodpecker from Mars, joined an americana/folk/rock group in Austin called The American Spirit, and currently play in Midcentury.

What are some of your heroes in the music industry and/or inspirations?Bruce: Nina Simone, Lauryn Hill, Tom Petty, Thom Yorke

Butch: There's a lot to mention. This industry is full of heroes big and small. But just to name a few that stand out in my personal progression as an artist :Dominic Howard (Muse)Jason Lytle (Grandaddy)RadioheadAirBeatlesPink FloydStewart Copeland (The Police)Simone Pace (Blonde Redhead)Job Theodore (Mars Volta)I could go all day. There's a bunch I'm missing...

Leslie: Well, Bobby Keys, obviously. I'm also a part of the Cardi B train. She is so mega and confident. I feel the same way about Margo Price. There are some powerful women making music out there and just killing the charts. And then you have Rihanna who's slays on the charts AND created a huge makeup company. What a bad ass. I hate this question. It's so difficult to answer. I have a lot of inspirations. I listen to a ton of hip hop and deejays, but The Rolling Stones are my all time favorite so I'd say their sax player Bobby Keys is just about as hero as it gets for me.

Alex: I look up to artists in the 70s-80s that made smart pop and daring jazz excursions. Often they are British.

Paul: Biggest guitar influences would be the combination of David GIlmour and Jimmy Page, . Musical inspirations range from David Bowie, Talking Heads, Queens of the Stone Age, the Killers, Supertramp, the Band, and Tame Impala, to name a few.

What is your song-writing process like?Bruce: Usually I write in clusters. I can go months without coming up with anything that i find to be quality, and then something clicks and songs just start pouring out. Mostly ideas start with a melody on guitar or piano and evolve from there.

Eric: Our songs usually start as some kind of demo from one of us. We throw them at the band and see what sticks. We then take the demo and workshop it in rehearsal or the studio. At that point it’s the band’s song and we try and do what it asks of us. As far as Midcentury goes just solid, good, relatable, clever, clean, timeless, beautiful songwriting.

Butch: Someone usually has an idea that is brought to a jam session and everyone puts their feel into it through improv and we build on that.

Leslie: On the sax, my style is play-as-it-comes melt face as much as possible.

Alex: I get a groove stuck in my head and I find myself beatboxing it as I go about my day. Then I'm like "Fine, brain! I'll make a demo out of it". Then I allow influences to come forth. Then I release it to my collaborators to see what sticks. Then we merge into one songwriting brain and allow more things to come forth.

Paul: Each band member is a talented writer; whether creating full rough structures of songs, melodic riffs, progressions, or lyrics. ‘Modern Nostalgia’ was heavily written by Bruce, but newer ideas have been the result of an idea being brought to the band and then tweaked and modified with all our different influences and musical tastes.

What lyrics, or songs would you like to be remembered as playing/writing? Or what have been some of your most popular songs over the years?Bruce: The lyrics for the songs Invoke and Chariots off our our debut album are ones that i am most proud of. They exemplify the mostly optimistic message that I would like to convey, and when I wrote them I felt as if I was truly expressing myself. Some song lyrics start out as poetry that I have written and somehow magically fit into a song, these are great examples of that.

Eric: Bruce’s lyrics were one of the things that drew me to his music. We got to know each other while I was recording his previous project in my studio. I’m super proud of the whole record and most of the lyrics are Bruce’s. Foul Play has always been one that I feel like speaks for me.

Butch: I'm hoping people catch on to the social justice warrior themed lyrics in some of our material. Speaks volumes to me in this day and age. Social media sure is somethin else.

Leslie: Someone once told me I was female Bobby Keys. I'll take being remembered as that.

Alex: Any song or lyrics that made someone's life better/fuller when they listen to it or think about it.

Paul: ‘Fallen’ is a piece we all worked very hard to complete, and stands out as a very strong, melody-driven song. ‘Nah Ima Stay Here’ showcases the bands more upbeat pieces, and was the newest bit of material to go on the album. “Worlds Apart’ is a great spacey, melodic song that shows the variety of sounds and feeling the band is capable of.

Do you have advice for other musicians who are just starting out?Bruce: Don’t try and force it. Put in your time and never stop. It’s best to set realistic goals for yourself so you always have something to work for that can be achieved in a measurable amount of time.

Eric: Learn piano, be a good hang, write music you want to listen to, don’t sweat the small stuff, call your mom, wash behind your ears.

Butch: Network your ass off. Be true with yourself and always with your art. Don't forget to practice. Always have fun with it.

Leslie: Keep at it. It took me years to meet the right people and get playing.

Alex: If you want to do it, make the decision. You have to decide, not just fuck around and hope. And get as clear a vision as you can of what you want to be doing, so your subconscious can work on it.

Paul: Listen to any/all music and take notes as to what they play, how they play, and what they are trying to say. Practicing alone and with other musicians is vital to musical growth, and should be done as often as necessary.

What is your favorite place to eat in Austin?Bruce: Taqueria Jaliscenses #6

Butch: Most recently one of the best meals I've ever experienced happened at Uchiko. I felt amazing afterward.

Leslie: Threadgills. They give you seconds on sides. What is better than bottomless southern food? As a native Tennessean, I am all about my meat-and-threes.

Alex: La BBQ or Curra's.

Paul: Anywhere with a good burger, sandwich, or tacos.

What is your birthday/zodiac sign?Bruce: I got pretty deep into astrology as a self-improvement tool when I was in college, going through some intense changes in myself. March 29th, 1988. Aires in the exalted position, Moon in Leo, Gemini Ascending. Capricorn heavy chart.

Eric: Jan 1 1985 - Capricorn

Butch: April 4th, 1986. Aries

Leslie: July 31st- the same date as the Harry Potter character. It's true- in the first book he gets picked up to go to Hogwarts on his birthday, July 31st. We are Leos.

Alex: Nov 9 - Scorpio

Paul: August 2nd, 1985. Leo

Where do you see yourself musically in 5 years?Bruce: I see myself fully immersed in my creative process, traveling the world in a self-sustaining band. Recording music constantly.

Eric: We’re working on our 4th album, “9 Days a Week” I’m producing music with all kinds of folks, trying to find a space for the latest Grammy on the shelf. So many stupid Grammys in the way!

Butch: I want to expand my knowledge by picking up multiple instruments, learn more about production/engineering, and dive into other genres in hopes of creating my first solo record. I just want to always progress, explore, and discover.

Leslie: Casually playing the sax wherever possible and still singing my heart out.

Alex: Going on live and studio adventures to give people more of my gifts. Really having a sense of what I can offer people and be hammering it out as my craft.

Paul: At the most experienced and seasoned level of musicianship of my life, ideally playing original songs to enthusiastic fans, getting song placement in different forms of video media, and not working a side job at a local bar/restaurant.

Anything you want people to know? Album coming out? Cool folks you've recorded with? etc.?Bruce: We put a ton of work into our debut album Modern Nostalgia. Give it a listen!

Eric: We’re working on new music! We also have some big shows coming up.

Butch: Keep on keepin on! Love ya!

Leslie: My freshman year of high school I met and studied under Jeff Coffin (Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Dave Matthews Band) and he basically taught me all of my tricks in just a few sessions. I actually still play on the mouthpiece he let me "borrow". Don't tell him that.

Alex: Wonderbitch and Midcentury have begun to write our next albums!

Paul: The best folks I’ve recorded with/played music with have been in THIS BAND. Listen up, people.

Join us Sunday April 15th for a magical dopesick set from Chase and Josh at Kitty Cohen's (33p-530p! See below the article for their upcoming tour dates as well. Photos by White Light Photography, article by Tiffany Harelik.

Where are you from? / When did you move to Austin and why? Josh: I'm a unicorn. Chase: I’m a god damn unicorn.

When did you start playing music?Josh: age 8 - snare drum and stuffed animals to fill out the kitChase: age 15 - classical guitar lessons, first band 16, rhythm guitar and harmonica

What are some bands you have played in over the years, and what are your current music projects/bands?Josh: Shearwater, TAFT, The Dan Ryan, Still Corners, Hello WheelsChase: Marmalakes, The Hermits - old friends with great psych rock songs

What is your song-writing process like?Josh: n/aChase: Lately for lyrics, I compile a bunch of fragmented images and then see how they float in the tune. Lots of editing for the last four of five songs I’ve been working on. It’s different every time. Josh helps me rework structure and pop elements in big ways.

What lyrics, or songs would you like to be remembered as playing/writing? Or what have been some of your most popular songs over the years?Josh: n/aChase: Vittoria is likely my best song. Questions for Eleanor about the rodeo is my favorite.

Do you have advice for other musicians who are just starting out?Josh: The company you keep will shape and define you. Chase: Don’t be cynical. Don’t get drunk before you play your set, be grateful for people doing their job, especially when they go out of their way. Remember people’s names. Go see shows a lot.

What are some of your heroes in the music industry and/or inspirations?Josh: n/aChase: Wilco, Laura Veirs, Conor Oberst, talented people I’ve been lucky to work with - Michael Landon, Danny Reisch, Tessa Hunt, Travis Newman

What is your favorite place to eat in Austin?Josh: Chase's mom's house.Chase: My mom’s house.

Where do you see yourself musically in 5 years?Josh: Making records I enjoy and traveling with my best friends to play them.Chase: Playing music as much as I healthily can and traveling all around the world. I’d like to have 3 or 4 more records to my name.

Anything you want people to know? Album coming out? Cool folks you've recorded with? etc.?Our debut album "Please Don't Stop" arrives May 11th on Austin Town Hall Records. We'll be on tour supporting the album.

Nothing says Spring on the Eastside better than a pool-side Cambodian-infused late Sunday brunch and live music from SPS at iconic Kitty Cohen’s: 2211 Webberville Rd, Austin, TX 78702 . Join us for the third season of #SideProjectSundays from 3:30p-5:30p April 15 - June 3.

“Blood Pumps, the name, haha” Bill Stevenson explains to me while we are both sitting in Austin traffic. He’s just finished a practice session and late lunch at Ramen Tatsuya. I’m in between a music lesson and Book People. “Its about getting your blood pumping and adrenaline,” he said. “See, I thought of a bloody stiletto,” I shared. He said that he has heard all kinds of interpretations about his band name which came to him in much the same way that he writes songs: organically.

About his song-writing and album-naming process, Bill said he noodles around with words and lyrics until something jumps out. “I’ve thrown away way more ideas than I’ve completed,” he said. “I plug in the beat machine and am constantly jotting down notes and lyrics, and eventually things will start coming out. It’s a matter of constant idea collection and one way or another – songs come out.” A Gemini with a Cancer Moon and Scorpio rising, Bill’s song writing is about being steeped in thinking about and feeling the music.

“Our second EP (Too Many Kids) is particularly strong and I’m super stoked about it,” he said. Their first EP, America and Burgers is available to hear online through spotify and all the mainstream platforms. Bill said the song that is most representative of the feel of their band is probably “Long Gossip.” “It’s us in a nutshell,” he said, “that’s the calling card song that represents what we can do. It’s unique; Nobody’s doing those arrangements.”

BLOOD PUMPS - Bill Stevenson

Bill started playing with Black Joe Lewis, a mid level, national touring act with a cult following in his early twenties. The Blood Pumps is an offshoot of their first act and features Joe Lewis on guitar, Mike Brinley on second guitar, Jordan Cook on drums and Bill Stevenson on bass.

About his bass, Bill plays a 1973 Rickenbaker. “I use flat wound strings on it,” he said. “It’s a 4003 model. Actually a friend of the band from the Black Joe Lewis operation gave it to us. It’s a really rad, beautiful bass – I love playing that thing, it’s my pride and joy. I’ve definitely been all over the world with it and I love it.”

Bill was born in Dallas, and grew up there for the most part. After his parents divorce, he spent some time in Spain and England as a child to spend time with his father. Bill played a year of clarinet in fourth grade and switched over to the orchestra snare in middle school. In high school he played and fronted bands. “My brother Paul had a guitar and he was the first one to throw a bass in my hands and ask me to play bass,” said Bill. The brothers played Nirvana and Weezer songs. “I don’t think I appreciated the bass for what it was at the time.”

Bill moved to Austin after high school in 2004 and began playing the dirty sixth street with it’s racket. He saw Joe (Lewis) in the spring of 2006 and met him the following year at his residency at the Hole in the Wall. “A friend of mine would go down there with me to check him out,” Bill said. “We both loved him because he played raw, in the best way kind of way, the blues. When the Weary boys left on tour, Joe needed a backing band – and that’s when I started playing with him.”

Bill’s advice for bands starting out? “Don’t try to use a 1970s drum machine,” he says in all honesty. Bill also made note of the necessary evil of having music videos and albums out as a way to legitimize your band and give people a place to see your style. “It’s a different trip now,” he says about playing music in comparison to a few years ago.

Favorite place to eat in Austin: Kome

BLOOD PUMPS - Black Joe Lewis

Interview wtih Acey Monaro and Ben Burdick: Go Fever

Go Fever is comprised of Acey Monaro on vox and ryhtym guitar, Ben Burdick on bass and vox, Sam Rives on keys and vox, and Keith Lough on lead guitar. We had a chance to visit with Acey and Ben about their background and their approach to music.

Where are you from?Acey: Maitland, NSW, Australia (although I lived in Sydney for nigh on 7 years)Ben: I’m from a little town called Arcata in the middle of nowhere bum F- Northern California. It’s a beautiful place where the Redwood mountains hit the Pacific Ocean and right in the heart of Humboldt County so everyone assumes I’m either a weed dealer or I must be a pot head.

When did you start playing music?Acey: My first instrument was bass- I got one for my 12th birthday, because I was a massive Suzi Quatro fan. Been singing all my life. My stepfather is a singer/guitarist/band leader and I was always around it. I only played 3 or 4 chord country standards on guitar until I started performing solo in 2012. Then I played 3 or 4 chord originals! Ben: I started picking up my dad’s guitar when I was 16/17 and basically played a variation of a D chord for 6 months. I think I annoyed the shit out of him so he bought me my own guitar and taught a few more chords and I was off. I’m mostly a bass player now and I inherited a beautiful ’73 Jazz Bass from my Uncle when I was 8 yo. Then I left it in the closet for 10 years before I started playing in a local “roots rock” act (remember I’m from Humboldt County). I was playing my band mate’s crappy squire for 6 months before I remembered I had that awesome bass collecting dust. I took it out and I haven’t had the need for another one since. Probably my only priceless thing I have.

When did you move to Austin and why?Acey: 2013, to be with my then-boyfriend, now-husband, Ben (Go Fever's bassist).Ben: I had a couple of friends who had moved down here and were trying to get me to follow for a few years. I was finally at a crossroads in life and decided to wing it. 8 years later…

Go Fever

Acey Monaro

What are your other band/music projects?Acey: None right now, although I've been writing new stuff that doesn't necessarily fit in with the Go Fever sound. I'd also like to get a country band together, but I'm too busy with Go Fever to even think about following through with that idea for the foreseeable future.Ben: I also play in a band called Star Parks.

Which musicians and albums/songs have inspired you over the years?Acey: Thousands, but off the top of my head, here are some artists: B-52's, Angel Olsen, Roger Miller (his ballads especially), Neko Case, Hound Dog Taylor, Harry Nilsson, Carole King, The Pretenders, Dwight Yokham (he mainly inspires me to drink), Camera Obscura, Elvis Costello.Ben: It really is a limitless list. I started out on Paul Simon’s Graceland. It’s my earliest memory of listening to music aside from Raffi. At this point if I was to make a small list it would look like Neil Young, Harry Nilsson, everyone from The Traveling Wilbury’s, Howlin’ Wolf, Wilco, The Band, The Kinks, Tame Impala, Bowie, The Beach Boys… and so many more. I’m inspired by something new every week it seems. As far as bass influences go it’s pretty clear for me: James Jamerson (Motown), Rick Danko (The Band), John Stirrat (Wilco) and Paul McCartney

What is your songwriting process?Acey: I write down one liners and couplets and vague narrative ideas in a notebook, then when I dedicate a day to songwriting, I go through and start fleshing one out on an acoustic guitar. I usually write a chorus first, then verses, then finally (maybe) a bridge. I edit my songs a lot- there were songs on our record (recorded last year), that I started writing in 2011, 2012, and were completed in 2016. I'm a verbose writer, for the most part, and I spend a lot of time editing lyrics and probably not enough energy revisiting and improving melodies and structure.

What is a story behind one of the songs you have written?Acey: Outdoors Man is the story of Ben and I meeting and falling in love. He bullshitted me by pretending that he was an adventurous type, who loved to camp, hike etc. because that's what I liked to do. In reality, he liked to sit in his room and watch shit on his lap top. The first time we went camping, he was so unprepared and we didn't have anything to sleep on inside the tent. I told him that I needed some protection, because I didn't want to get any "morning dew" on me. Unfortunately, Australians pronounce 'dew' like 'Jew', so he took it as a racial slur (he's Jewish). Luckily we sorted that one out pretty quickly. Last time we went camping, just a few weeks ago, I left the packing to him for the first time, and he brought so little food that we had to drive to the closest town and get pizza. So not much has changed on that front.

What advice do you have for other musicians starting out?Acey: 1. Quit your 9-5er (if you have one) and get a demoralizing service industry job and dedicate yourself to playing music. There's time to make money later if it doesn't work out. I left it so late to take that risk. 2. Go out and see as many local bands as possible and be a part of the local music community. I have amazing musician friends, who I know I can call or text whenever I need to vent about booking or whatever, and they make me feel appreciated. It's especially hard being a band leader/manager because it's a full time job (if you're doing it properly) and not everyone understands that. You're gonna need support!3. Play as much as possible.4. Don't be jealous of other bands who are doing better than you. Be inspired.Ben: Start early and practice, play all the time. It’s my biggest regret in life that I didn’t focus on music from an earlier age. Expose yourself to as much as you can.

What is your favorite place to eat in Austin?Acey: I would eat the arse out of a low flying duck, so I'm not terribly choosy. But I do love Matt's El Rancho. No yuppie joints.Ben: I’ve been eating regularly at Bouldin Creek since it was a little coffee shop down the road.

What is your birthday/zodiac sign?Acey: Cancer. My birthday is July 3rd SAME AS TOM CRUISEBen: Taurus. April 24th

Where do you see yourself musically in 5 years?Acey: Better at guitar, writing more, with multiple projects and still questioning the point of it all.Ben: Probably busking down on the drag trying to get a gig at the Hole In The Wall. And thus is the circle of life in Austin, TX.

Anything you want people to know? Album coming out? Cool folks you've recorded with? etc.?Acey: We're touring west in June, passing through Tucson, San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Nevada City, Cottage Grove (OR), Portland and Seattle. Dates are on our website.

Born in Middlesboro, a small Kentucky town of about twelve-thousand people that is bordered by Tennessee and Virginia. Jeff Hortillosa (Horti) says some pretty wacky happenings of the alien-encounter type are reported frequently in Middlesboro, “of the history channelesque type of reports.”

Growing up, Jeff took violin lessons starting at the age of five. “I got ok, butwasn’t super focused on it,” he said. “Then I got into drums when I was eight with that Greenday album: Dookie. That’s what made me want to play the drums so bad. I picked up the guitar when I was thirteen – Louie Louie was the first song I learned.” He has taken lessons in metal and jazz, and picks up techniques from people he hangs out with. “Californication was a transitory albumfor me that flipped my perception of things when I was twelve,” Jeff shared. Over the years, Jeff has been influenced by albumbs by Garbage, Steve Ray Vaughn, Hendrix, and Clapton.

In 2010 he was part of an indie folk pop band called Uncle Lady. The band members met in college in Kentucky where they were learning to play bluegrass. The group moved to Ausitn together and decided to stay around. Most known for his involvement with piano and guitar in the band Whiskey Shivers, Jeff also does a solo act that has expanded into another band called Horti and the Horticulture Club. One of his favorite songs he has written is a new song about to be released on Whiskey Shivers new album (July 2017), "Some Part of Somethin," called "Liquor, beer, wine, and ice."

“It's about my hometown, Middlesboro Kentucky, which never really got out of the prohibition days,” shared Jeff. “By that I mean, alcohol sale has been illegal within the city for almost a century. Recently, though, a proposition was passed that allowed for the town to have beer sales in restaurants. "Liquor, Beer, Wine, and Ice," pays homage to the town. They don't have spirits or wine, and it's only in restaurants (the town is technically, "Moist," not "Wet."), so the song takes some poetic liberties. The over all vibe of a party chorus singalong for the late drinking hours, though, that's pretty spot on. “

Tell us about your songwriting process: oftentimes I’ll sit down and spit something out and build upon the idea from there. Start with lyrics or music? A little bit of both.

Advice for new guys starting out: Keep playing, keep practicing, keep writing, keep doing it – and read a lot, and observe and go out to other shows. You have to go to other shows.

Horoscope Sign: Capricorn

Favorite place to eat in Austin: Oh jeze! So many places, all over the entire city...so I guess it depends where you are. There's a place in my neighborhood called Tarbouch, on Oltorf, and their Baba Ganoush is divine. The food of gods.

Brothers Jeff and Ben Brown grew up in a little town across the river from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Jeff started playing punk originally and has been writing songs since he was 13 or 14. “As soon as my friends older brother started introducing us to the music we liked, I instantly became obsessed with it,” says Jeff Brown. “"I didn't think I could be a musician at first because the popular rock music when I was young was very technical. Eventually though I discovered the Ramones and that changed all that, because I realized that a great song was more powerful than pure technical ability. So early on I started writing, even before I could play very well. In The Savage Poor I write a lot of the material, but even in Shinyribs, when I'm just coming up with a bass part, I think of it as writing and try to compliment the song."

“Ben actually learned to play guitar a lot later than I did,” Jeff remembers. “The only time we’ve ever lived apart was my first year of college – and while I was away from home somehow he got really good,” Jeff laughs. “He just showed up one day and could play and sing great. We started playing together a little bit during college and eventually moved back home to Pennsylvania to form a band with our friends (the No Show Ponies).” They kept the band name when they first moved to Austin. Jeff says there was a revolvoing cast of characters in the band, but there was always he and his brother Ben.

The Savage Poor is a band name Ben came up with for their newest band incarnation. “We felt it was a strong name,” Jeff said. “Given that we are struggling musicians and the current political situation we thought it would be provocative.” Their genre is rock at heart. “Everything we play is informed by the passion of rock and roll but stylistically we are all over the map – we throw in reggae and soul grooves with punk songs,” Jeff said. The musicians that have influenced him the most are: Morirssey, Paul Westerberg, Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen. Their debut album is coming out in June and is called 'The Grown Ups". Check it out: https://www.gofundme.com/savagepooralbum

Having played with Shinyribs (Jeff has also been on recorded tracks with Ray Wylie Hubbard and Tim Easton, among others), Jeff brings a lot of musical talent to the band, but he is not the only one. Each person performing with The Savage Poor has played with a variety of talent including Bo Diddley and Jesse Malin. The Savage Poor is currently comprised of Jeff Brown on guitar and vocals, Ben Brown on guitar and vocals, Alex Moralez on drums, and Roger Wuthrich on bass. Joining them on Sunday, as at all recent gigs, is their producer Christine Smith on keyboards, who recently relocated to Austin. Jeff says, "Smith is as close to a band member as one can be, outside of officially joining the band. We spent months locked in the studio with her and the band all developed a great respect for her musical abilities. It only made sense to collaborate live as much as possible. The five of us are all really good friends and it really shows in what we're bringing to the stage right now."

I asked Jeff to tell me about one of their songs:“Our first single, "Alone and Cry", is a classic wall of sound pop song. It's probably the most classic sounding song on the record that begins our journey, before we head off to weirder territories. It's got an army of acoustic guitars, piano, xylophone, and tympani on it, amongst other things. We wanted to keep the listener off balance, leave them unsure of what will be around the next corner. Before this song there is a 30 second intro of distorted howling. Then this song comes in, which is gentle and beautiful. Despite the gorgeous melody and lush arrangement we wanted the lyrics to set the tone for the record. This song begins, "The body decays, the mind gets perverted, one day you wake up afraid, that you'll become conservative." We wanted the record to be fun, but to also deal head on with these troubling times in our country. Gallows humor is a tool to do both.” Jeff says the Savage Poor plays subversive rock and roll. “We are trying to get ideas into music that challenge political aspects and cultural points of interest.”

Favorite place to eat in Austin: Taco deli – the al pastor tacos

Tips for new bands out there:“Don’t worry about making mistakes. The only difference between pro and amateur is that the mistakes don’t bother the pro, but when you’re new and make mistakes its like your world is ending. You can't be afraid of mistakes or you'll never get anywhere new and exciting.

Born on the day of the dangerous quest at 3:33am, Henry Roland arrived to planet Earth somewhere outside of San Antonio, Texas. He played his first show on 6th street in Austin at age sixteen and has been playing music professionally ever since. His first band was called the Gingerbread Men. Based in Austin, the 7-13 piece band toured the country for a few years before ultimately splitting up.

Henry had studied music at UT, but it was where he moved to New York to study jazz that he says he got a lot of quality musical training. In New York he worked a nine to five grind while DJ-ing at night, running an open mic night and playing shows. Although he was there for the jazz, his band Starchild was more of a rock band. “We dove into the blues, and rock, more of that style,” Henry told me over the phone about the trio band.

In addition to his own contribution to the New York music scene, Henry enjoyed hearing some up and coming bands while he was there. “The Strokes were coming up to New York and we would play shows with them in little clubs - and no one would be there,” he said. “I remember seeing Lady Gaga at a small club with nobody there. It was a great time in New York, but very difficult to make ends meet with rent going higher.” So Henry came back to Texas.

The bass player from Starchild came to Austin eventually and the guys found a drummer. They continued to play shows together and still had five or six gigs booked in the calendar when they decided to break up. “So I tried my hand at the one man band,” Henry said.

He’s been back in Austin for about six years now playing solo acts under the name Henry and the Invisibles. He plays everything from a water jug to acoustic guitar, bass guitar and keys. He’s got a cocktail kit (stand up drum kit) and of course, he sings. “Over the years it’s a fine tuned spaceship that is all dialed in with the multiple instruments. So that’s how Henry and the Invisibles were born,” he said. “Out of desperation and exploration – and I ‘ve been the happiest I’ve ever been.

“For this acoustic show on Sunday,” he shared, “Some of these songs I haven’t played in well over a decade. I’m a little rusty but I’ve been practicing. It’s cool to tap back into these lyrics. Playing them the original way I wrote them has brought a warm feeling to my heart to know that these songs are still around in my head.

“I was always a songwriter,” he shared. “I used to write predominantly on acoustic guitar. I started writing in piano the last nine years or so, but acoustic was my primary instrument. So this is really cool for me to do this show in acoustic because I’m really tapping into an instrument that I’m revisiting.

He has a few tips for songwriters starting out:

“If you’re’ strating out, a lot of people really try to sound like other people – we have shows like The Voice and American Idol, there’s lots of karaoke, and people are singing similarly. I don’t want that to sound negative – I just think it’s really important to tap into your individuality. If it’s quirky, it’s going to be cool. What’s missing in the world is you. You could be a voice that’s really missing because you’re not trying to sound like anyone else – you’re just doing you.

“You could put a guitar in a room with 60 other guitar players. If you ask them to play a certain song, everyone would do something different on the guitar. With every aspect of musicianship – you should strive for that personal voice. That’s what separates you from the crowd.

“If you’re serious as a songwriter, you have to do it pretty much every day. You have to do it all day every day. Jobs get in the way. Schoolwork gets in the way. But it has to be something that you keep nurturing - watering like a plant in order for you to get better. If you want to get better at an instrument, you have to practice: there is no other way.

“For the young songwriters out there - dare to be gritty, get your hands dirty, and live life so you actually have something to sing about. No one wants to hear a song about your car or money – we don’t need any more superficial lyrics. Get into life and write about it.

“New York is a heavy place. For most of us who are starving artists and striving to break the scene, we go through a lot of hardships and struggle. But through that struggle it really makes you a better person and definitely a better artist because you are writing completely from the heart. I would honestly suggest everyone take a dive into something like that.”

I asked Henry if there were any special songs he would be playing on Sunday. He told me about this one called Timber. “It was a very heavy piece when I wrote it,” he said. “I was practicing in the lower East side of Manhattan. I was sitting in the park and this giant tree fell not too far from me. People were scurrying to get away from it. I was imagining the death of this tree – the end of it’s life – with some saplings coming up next to it. There was this whole beginning/end life/death contrast going on.” Here’s a taste of some of the lyrics to Timber, which he plays on open tuning:

I’m so in love with lifeMore than ever nowIsn’t is so funny how it always works outWe never know just whenEndings turn to beginningsAnd beginnings to ends

To speak to Henry’s words of wisdom about not being afraid to jump in and live a little - has another song called “Keep on Keeping On.’ It covers a time he was mugged by four guys in New York and hit by a car on a bicycle. “It’s about keep getting up,” he said.

What’s his favorite place to eat in Austin? “Chuy’s,” he says with a big cackle laugh. “It’s crazy because living in San Antonio, I love authentic Mexican food. But I’m really in love with those chicka chicka boom booms at Chuy’s.”

“I’m originally from Little RockArkansas,” singer/guitarist Peter Shults shared with me, “that’s where Zula was from.” When he started playing guitar at age ten, he never imagined he’d be playing in a band named for his great-grandmother. “Back then I was just making abstract noise on the guitar,” he said. “It was a couple of years before I really knew how to play it.” Beyond Little Rock, Peter grew up in Saint Louis and San Antonio. He played cello in the middle school orchestra and learned “real music” from there, also confessing that he dressed up as a rock star in 2nd and 3rd grade complete with do-rags. Eventually, Peter came to Austin for college at the University of Texas and has been there since 2005.

“I met Josh (Halpern) through Chase of Marmalakes,” Peter shared. “And I met Chase at a songwriting competition the Kerrville folk festival put on.” Shults also plays in a band called Hello Wheels. “I started writing songs that didn’t quite have a place in that project but they were still songs that were fun to play. So Josh and I went off on our own and started fleshing them out. We spent a year gigging around town changing our band name every show and came up with some pretty awful names. Zula Montez is what stuck.”

A love for playing music runs deep in Peter’s family. His great-grandfather Bentley Bynum Wood – Zula’s husband – was a fiddle player. “He went deaf towards the end of his life, but he could still play,” Peter said. “We all called him Pal. “ Would Zula be proud of the music? I asked Peter. “I don’t know,” he said, with a curious air, “most of the stories I know about her make her sound like an old codger with a little piss and vinegar – but maybe? I hope? I’ve always really like her name and hope to improve on our legacy.”

Singer/guitarist Peter Shults of Hellow Wheels and drummer Josh Halpern of Marmalakes and Shearwater join us at Side Project Sundays with their band Zula Montez this Sunday. Taft Mashburn will join them on synth.

What’s your favorite place to eat in Austin? “Kome (sushi/Japanese pub) – get the fried oysters, miso soup, or the cream cheese candied jalapeno, avocado, eel and salmon/shrimp – the whole roll itself is deep fried. Their sauces are so good. There’s an eel sauce that is sweeter and tangier, and there’s an orange sauce that is creamy habanero. “

Do you have any tips for new bands starting out? “It’s hard out there. Since I’ve been playing music in Austin, I’ve gone through a number of approaches for how to be successful and have good shows. The longer I’ve done it the more I’ve come back to my instinct – with Austin there’s a temptation, there’s a lot of cool stuff and a lot of great bands – it can be tempting to try to adopt some part of their model – but finding the thing that works for you, making the community, the brand, or the aesthetic and focusing on the thing that is really inspiring to you.”

Tell us about your songwriting process:

“This project(Zula Montez) has been a lot of fun because it’s been a step in a different direction for me in the songwriting process. The songs we are playing now are more experimental. Hello Wheels there are three different singers in the band, and a lot of harmony, democracy and co-writing. With Zula, this was an experiment in trying to do something less diplomatic and having the freedom to follow your whims. We’ve been jamming, recording, throwing stuff on the wall and seeing what sticks. I’ve gotten to collaborate with a lot of musicians I’ve known for a long time. It’s an enlightening way to approach songwriting and music. It has given me freedom to obsess about the little details you notice when you’re a creative person. For the beholder of the art it may not even be apparent to him, but I (can geek out) on this down beat of the bass, for example, and grasp onto those things when they move me, and really make them serve the song.

Tell us about one of your favorite songs:

“One of our first songs we got a recording of is called Lean On. It’s all about how basically through life music has always been there. I had the melody for the song years before in my head. I remember showing it to other people and collaborators and not getting a lot of positive feedback. Finally I had a buddy who was leaving town. We wanted to have some fun recording together before he left. We didn’t have an agenda and that idea popped back into my head. We played it through the first take and came up with a lick I hadn’t thought about. An evening later it was a song. I showed it to some of those same people I showed before and they liked it so much better. Lean On is a song that helped us find the process and find the sound. “

I asked him to tell us a little more about Josh too:

“Josh is amazing – he’s very fluid. My collaboration with him as friends and musicians – I never feel like we reach a dead end. If an idea isn’t working, he’s good at helping find that different feel and inject life into things. That’s the most fun thing about working with him – you never know where it’s going to take you. Often times for the better part of a year we’ve been working on a full length record and several songs as they have come to their final version are vastly different than when they started. I loved the guitar part but when we added an ingredient I go cold on the first inspiration and all of a sudden the song is 180 degrees from where you started. It’s like following different candy trails.”

Selena Rosanbalm grew up here in Austin, Texas. Even though she knows better, having grown up in Longhorn country, Selena went to school at Oklahoma City University. “It was a bizarre turn of events,” she laughs as she tries to explain her way through that one with me. After moving home to Austin after college, she spent time in New York auditioning for shows. “I thought that’s what my path was going to be,” she told me. “But I didn’t love living in New York, so I came back to Austin and started a band instead.” She explained her logic in that when you’re auditioning for shows, you’re relying on someone else to determine the fate of your performance career. “Maybe I can make my own performance schedule and decide who I want to play with and have a little more autonomy over it,” she said.

Her main music project is a country concept called Rosie and the Ramblers. She writes all the original music for that band, and has been working on poetry and short fiction as well. In fact, she mentioned studying for the GRE’s to get into grad school for creative writing. She will be playing some of her original songs this Sunday with Denim on Denim. The core of Denim on Denim is Cat Clemons (on guitar) and Selena Rosanbalm (on vocals). The two players that play the most often with them are Sam Pankey (on bass) and Daniel Dufour (on drums.)

“I also sing with the Hot Texas Swing Band,” she told me “I get to sing a little bit of jazz standards with that group. I went to school to study musical theatre, so I love those old show tune theatre songs.” Her love of rhythm is what made her ask Cat to play guitar with her “and I got lucky,” she said. He had agreed. “I kept asking all these good players and they said yes,” said Selena. So Denim on Denim was born.

I loved that she never even knew how to play the guitar until she started Rosie and the Ramblers in 2011. “I took piano in college to pass proficiency and blazed through the required stuff,” she said. “I started writing songs and came to a point where I don’t feel like I can finish writing this song unless I know how to play it (on guitar).”

She said her most requested song is probably a Rambler’s song called Shut Up. “The core is notoriously obnoxious and gets stuck in people’s heads. It’s a song about a rowdy night at a bar and being a girl getting hit on when that’s not what you’re after,” she said.

About her songwriting process, she says she usually starts with the lyrics. “I usually have a phrase in mind that I like and sit down and work something up around that. I don’t think about the music until the lyrics are done.”

I asked if she had any tips for people that were just starting out gigging: “I think seeing as many shows as you can and trying to catch as many genres as are available. Absorbing other peoples’ music and finding something that’s good is really important too. People tend to write in the style they are listening to, so presumably the better music you listen to, the better your writing will be."

Favorite michelada in Austin: Mi Madres on Manor – east side.

Selena says Denim on Denim still feels like it’s in its infancy to her, but she started it about a year and a half ago. “I had a death close to me and quit doing music for awhile,” she shared. “Denim is a fun way to explore some different songwriting than I do with Rosie & the Ramblers. We (Denim) do a lot of jazz standards, but the stuff I’m writing for it is kind of poppy…. jazzy poppy. Which is totally new for me. It’s a side step from doing only country stuff and trying to keep dancers in mind. This has been more free style-wise.

“We’re going to do a song called Falling this weekend. It’s the first one I wrote for the group so it has a special place as the first song in a new style,” she said. “So this is the one I had the courage to sing in front of people. It’s about fallin’ in love with somebody. It’s also one of my few happy songs – I tend to be kind of a downer, she says laughing.”

Check out Denim on denim on facebook for a little preview before you join us at the show.

Mike St. Clair grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina playing music. Starting with the violin when he was five years old, he took lessons for six years or so. He shared this with me over the phone after his photo shoot with Letitia that day. After he grew frustrated feeling a little in over his head on violin in the all-city orchestra, he switched to trombone in the middle school band ultimately adding guitar to his musical repertoire. Mike attended music school, playing the trombone and bass in Greensboro, North Carolina where he received a music education degree. “I went on to study jazz at the University of North Texas in Denton and graduated with a Master’s degree,” Mike shared.

He went on the road for the first time with the Glen Miller Orchestra. “It was a really good experience,” Mike said over the sounds of a dog barking in the background. He was playing fetch with his dog and the neighbor dog was getting jealous. “It was a bunch of musicians traveling around in a greyhound bus,” he recalled. “The band was a merge of all the jazz I had been studying with big band sounds and pop songs.” This was around 2005. Once he returned from touring with the Glen Miller Orchestra he was invited to play trombone with Polyphonic Spree. “That was my first European tour,” Mike said. “We had two buses, and a lot of the musicians had their families with them. There were at least two dozen people making music with us on that tour.” They had a full choir, percussion and drums, horns, and strings. Mike is not a full time band member but still plays Polyphonic Spree shows from time to time. “I fill in on trumpet or trombone.” The band’s most notable song is Light and Day. “I’m on three of their records, but I’m not on that recording,” he clarified. Two other notable bands Mike has toured and recorded with include: Okkervil River and currently White Denim.

St. Clair moved to Austin with a jam band called Nelo. After Nelo ran it’s course, he played with Terry Cavanaugh and the Alpine Express where he met Sam Lipman. In that band Sam played a variety of instruments: clarinet, violin, keyboard, flute, saxophone and vocals. “We all played a bunch of instruments,” Sam shared, “and watched all the ladies line up for Mike.” We are on a three-way conference call and the jokes are rolling in. “Mike roped me into that gig,” Sam said. “We used to play every Wednesday night at a lovely old pub called the Ghost Room on 4th and Lavaca. I was amazed with Mike because he could play rock and jazz."

Mike St. Clair ^

Sam is originally from Sydney Australia. Much like his colleague St. Clair, Sam also grew up playing violin with the Sydney youth orchestra. “Same thing,” Sam said, “I got disillusioned with violin in high school and played heavy metal guitar. Metallica. I grew my hair long and did all that for a couple of years. But later I discovered the saxophone and jazz.” He decided to move to New York and become a jazz musician, where he played for eight years. “I got to tour with some great musicians during my time in New York: Barney McCall and Kurt Rosenwinkel” (the latter he referred to as one of the biggest names in jazz in the last twenty years). “I got to tour with him in Australia.

“I had a good time, but sort of fell out of love with it and wanted to do some other things. After 9/11 I came here to Austin and got active in the rock scene. I started a band called the Handsome Charlie’s. We did three national tours, signed on a local label in 2004, had songs on MTV, etc. Eventually that ran it’s course. I got tired of that loud, difficult lifestyle. After that, Mark Hudson, who had produced one of my labels, asked me to score some music for GSD&M. He knew I grew up playing classical music and he liked my rock arrangements. So I put together some orchestral writing for short TV commercials that utilized the Austin symphony.”

Sam is back in school at the University of Texas now, obtaining a Masters in composition. “I grew up loving classical music, rediscovered it, and fell back in love with it. I really enjoy the modern orchestral stuff; it’s very involved. It’s like being a movie buff – it’s more like that than listening to a rock record which is a different experience that I still love to do.

Sam recently scored a film that did pretty well: Kiss Me Goodnight got short listed for an Oscar for best song. “I really enjoy doing (music for) films. I’m doing two right now,” he shared. “I just did a ballet. My daughter is in the background she helped write it,” he said.

On Sunday, the audience can expect a good show. Matthew Judson will be sitting in on drums with Mike on bass/keys and Sam on sax, keys and guitar. Marcus Rubio will be playing synth and violin, and Jesse Chandler will be playing keyboards, flute and bass clarinet. They describe the music as ethereal and imaginative cinematic soundscapes that are engaging, funky, and rocky with that warm Wilco-esque tone. Matthew and Sam also accompany the UT ballet three days a week.

Who is Night Glitter? Night Glitter is a psychedelic combo of Lou Lou from Thievery Corporation & John Michael Schoepf of The Happen-Ins. Lou Lou and John Michael take you for a cosmic musical ride when they perform on the stage together. Below is a little preview vid we love of LouLou singing Sweet Tides. She explains in this interview how because she was so young when she started with Theivery that it really took her some time to really gain clarity of her own space in music. We love her deep lightness, style and mystical poise behind the mic.

John Michael recently played with Chrissie Hynde while she was in town opening for the Stevie Nicks show. Below is a Happen-Ins vid of their song "Be Yer Fool". They are known for their R&B, Rock n Roll, and Blues sounds. According to their facebook page, band members include Sean Faires, Ricky Ray Jackson, John Michael Schoepf, Falcon Valdez, Evan Charles, Baby Jesus, Sportscaster Bill Simmons and yer heart. Now combine John Michael's tone with Lou Lou's vocals and you can begin to get an idea of the mesmerizing effect they have on stage.

Photo above by David Brendan Hall snagged from this Austin Chronicle article featuring Chrisse Hynde and John Michael Schoepf.

Tony Kamel never took formal music lessons growing up in Houston. “I got an electric guitar for my 13th birthday,” he shared with us on the sunny patio of Radio Coffee. “Before that, I was playing an old classical guitar that was my mom’s.” Tony’s first collaboration was playing with his cousin Milhko Bravo in high school. “He and I played together for years after that for fun really, but we also performed a few times.” Tony learned to play the mandolin from Wood & Wire’s current mandolin player, Billy Bright. “Guitars are tuned in fourths. Theoretically, they are laid out strangely. But mandolin and violin are laid out logically,” Tony shared.

His biggest influences, in general, weren’t bluegrass players at first. “I loved Frank Zappa and classic rock,” Tony said. “My mom got me listening to Ozzy Osborne and Led Zeppelin. Eventually, as I got into bluegrass, I loved Ralph Stanley, Doc Watson especially, and of course Bill Monroe.” Tony says one thing he loves about bluegrass is that you can take bluegrass instruments and express any interest.

Wood & Wire is his primary band that formed in October of 2011. The line up has changed over the years and currently includes Trevor Smith on banjo, Billy Bright on mandolin, Dom Fisher on bass, and Tony Kamel on guitar and sometimes banjo. Tony plays a Collings D1-A guitar and an Ome Banjo. The iconic microphone he uses is an Edwina model from Ear Trumpet Labs. He does most of the songwriting and sings lead vocals.

“Mexico” is one of their most popular songs. “I wrote it in 2010/2011,” Tony shares, “I really like to tell story-songs. It’s a prison break song about a guy who leaves prison and tries to make it to Mexico. What I like about the song is that it drives, it’s fun and when we play it, it just has this energy about it. Dom came up with the idea to do a call and response piece in the chorus and now it’s one of the most definitive things we do.

“This next record that Wood & Wire is working on has some cool songs on it. I dug in a little deeper on a personal level using some of my family experiences I had while growing up. There’s more collaboration than before and in my opinion, that makes it better than one person writing alone.”

In terms of his writing process, Tony says he almost always start with the melody. “I record it on my phone, sometimes in the middle of the night. I go into the bathroom so I don’t wake up my girlfriend,” he laughs. “Sometimes they (melodies) come to you in a dream. Most of my songs I write on my phone, sitting on my couch. Artistically I feel obligated to write them in a notebook as well. And I email the notes from my phone to myself so I don’t lose it. If you don’t document them then, you lose it like a fart in the wind.”

What is your favorite place to eat in Austin? Botticelli’s – get the “duck two ways.”

Tips for songwriters starting out: Don’t worry too much about quality at first. Just get used to the writing process. And also ‘rewriting’ is the thing that helps me the most. Write something, let it sit, and then go back and prove it line by line.

The primary difference between the songs Tony writes for Wood & Wire and those he will be playing at Side Project Sundays is a little looser feel. "Wood & Wire is in it for the long haul but musically, the only thing that's 100% certain to be around until the day I die is me performing by myself. That's a skill I want to hone in and develop long term."

Although Tony doesn’t have immediate plans to do a solo record, Wood & Wire is putting out another record next year through the Zone in Dripping Springs. “We have a stripped-down recording process, we basically record live,” said Tony as he packed up his banjo to head out for a SXSW gig.

Come hungry for kebabs to welcome Tony Kamel back to the SPS stage March 19th from 3p-5p at Kebabalicious’ storefront on the corner of east 7th and Navasota.

Originally from San Diego, California, Jesse went to middle school and high school in Dallas/Fort Worth and eventually moved back to San Diego to go to college. “But then I wanted to come back to Texas,” Jesse shared, “so I chose San Marcos to finish up my undergrad and that’s where I met a lot of people I make music with today. I’ve been living in this area off and on since 2002.”

In school at Texas State, Jesse completed a minor in music with a degree in anthropology that combined music ritual with other interests. “Since I was self-taught, I had to go backwards and learn music from an academic point of view,” shared Jesse. “I learned theory, jazz combos, and got the basics behind me.” It was at Texas State where he met Michael McLeod in music literature class. “ We used to play foosball after class during our two-hour break. Now we play music professionally together in the Deer along with Grace Park who I met during college as well.” It was a good time to be in music school, as the Grupo Fantasma horn section and a few musicians from Blue October were in school there at the same time.

Jesse’s main project is The Deer. “Writers always have a hard time trying to explain our genre,” Jesse laughs. “We call ourselves Transcendental Texas and Psychotropic Surfwestern.” Jesse and Grace split most of the writing, but their songs are a collaborative effort. Grace Park is the front woman with lead vocals and plays keyboard and guitar. Michael McLeod plays lead guitar, Noah Jeffries plays mandolin, fiddle and guitar, Alan Eckert plays drums, keyboard and vocals and Jesse plays upright bass and vocals.

Jesse also plays with the indiegrass band Milk Drive. “I don’t have creative input in that band,” he said, “but they taught me how to play on a professional level.” Noah Jeffries plays mandolin, fiddle and guitar and sings and Jesse plays upright bass and does vocals as well. Brian Bekan (their lead singer) got gobbled up by Robert Earl Keen and Dennis Ludiker, the mandolin player, started playing with Asleep at the Wheel. “Dennis comes from four generations of fiddle players,” Jesse said. “He won the Texas State fiddle champion 4-5 times and his sister Kimber has won the national champion. Their Dad Tony has won the national championship several times in the late 70s and late 80s. Milk Drive was full time, but now it’s whenever we can get together since everyone has other projects,” Jesse explained.

Jesse draws from several influences including The Beatles, Animal Collective, Gillian Welch, Roger Sellers, and Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass movement. “I went down the bluegrass rabbit hole for a long time and have incorporated a lot of those sounds in our music,” said Jesse. He plays an Eastman rosewood bass that he has had for twelve years. “It’s definitely been through the ringer,” he said. “TSA in New Orleans dropped it on it’s side one time, and I’ve broken the neck off a couple times. I also have a 1970 D35 Martin. My step dad was the original owner and then he gave it to me. I love that guitar. If there was a fire at my house I would grab the guitar and leave the bass.”

Winter to Pry is a sad song Jesse wrote on the morning he found out one of his good friends passed away. It’s The Deer’s most listened to song on Spotify. “It’s about the human psyche and the depression that followed that morning,” Jesse said. “A lot of people can identify with those sad feelings. You have to have lived the experience to come up with words.”

Tips for songwriters:Find your own voice. “I heard somebody say to learn twenty of your favorite songs: memorize them all, then forget them all. I think that’s an interesting technique. T.S. Elliott said that good poets steal and immature poets imitate. A mature poet will take something that’s already been done and make it different and better. An immature poet will replicate. There are only 12 notes. You’re bound to sound like something that’s already been done before but you can definitely stand out. Hunter S Thompson’s grandma told him to find something that’s never been done and be the best at it. That’s good advice too.”

Favorite Meal in Austin: “My go to is Veracruz because I hang out at Radio so much. I like the Clay Pit too.”

Come hear Jesse’s bluegrass and original tunes at the next Side Project Sundays!

Jesse Ebaugh started playing piano at age eleven where he grew up in Colorado. “I was allowed to quit when I joined a punk rock band when I turned thirteen,” he said, with his rescue dog Scout listening as intently to his story as anyone in the room. “My hippie parents were drag-a-long parents so I went to every party they ever went to. Listening to all the adults playing music is what made me want to play music. The adults pulling out the guitars and playing grateful dead songs was the most vital feature of any social activity or party.

After having graduated high school in Pennsylvania and dropping out of art school in New York, Jesse says he drifted to Kentucky out of circumstance. “When I lived in Kentucky,” he shared, “aside from being in punk bands I played bluegrass six or seven days a week. I supported myself as a bluegrass musician for two years.”

Playing bluegrass for so long, Jesse says his biggest influence is American Folk Song Form in all of it’s permutations: Appalachian mountain tunes, murder ballads, piedmont and delta blues, early country music, etc. “American pop music grew out of those traditions. I can hear those song forms in the songs on the radio,” Jesse said. “I really admire Dan Penn, Gordon Lightfoot and Gene Clark as writers. I admire Aaron Blount and his writing with his band Knife in the Water quite a bit.

“From punk to bluegrass – it’s all folk music – it’s just people playing music about who they are and where they are. Whether it’s zit-faced 14-year-olds playing songs in their parents' basements or anyone else, they are singing songs about their lives. Bluegrass music is about people singing about their lives. Music is a function of the community you want to be involved with.”

Jesse met Erika (Wennerstrom) and all the Heartless Bastards there in Kentucky and eventually made his way to Austin with them. After putting out five albums, the Heartless Bastards are taking a little hiatus so each of the musicians can focus on individual projects. “Ragged From the Road,” is one of Jesse’s newest tracks, which you can hear at KUT’s song of the week.

Jesse plays bass in punk bands and upright bass in bluegrass bands. One of his recent collaborations, The Austin Roots Collective, came together in 2017 exclusively to showcase the different talents of each of the musicians involved. “We formed it in order to attend the Folk Alliance,” he said, “and took different turns being the band leader. If you came to listen, you didn’t necessarily know whose songs you would be hearing.” The Folk Alliance, he shared, is like SXSW for folkies. “Talent buyers go to see who has a new record, who they want to book on their festival this year.

The Austin Roots Collective is comprised of:

Beth Chrisman (fiddle)

Silas Lowe (mandolin and guitar)

Sophia Johnson (guitar)

Jesse Ebaugh (upright bass)

Jesse Ebaugh and the Tender Things is Jesse’s latest record he has been working on. “For me, I’ve always been a side man,” he said,” Scout now in his lap listening even more intently than before as Letitia shoots their profile. “I started writing songs this time last year. I’ve been home recording this record little by little with fancy players on the record. Elijah Ford has been playing bass, David Colvin has been playing drums and David Pulkingham on guitar. Of Pulkingham, Jesse said David has played with Alejandro Esocvedo, Patty Griffin, Robert Plant and more. Jesse plays acoustic on the record and he says it comes out as soon as it gets done.

The full band will be performing at C-boys heart and soul Tuesday-Saturday during SXSW from 4p-6p. No wristband needed, just an honest free show. “Come drink beer,” Jesse says with a welcoming grin. This version of Jesse Ebaugh and the Tender Things includes David Colvin (drums), Brad Meinerding (electric/vocals), Chris Cosintino (bass/vocals) and of course Jesse.

“In addition to Tender things, I’ve been working on Erika Winnestrom’s latest record too. There will be more Heartless Bastards stuff in the future,” Jesse said, “it was a decade of relentless touring and we agreed to take a break and circle the wagons. Erika is working hard on getting her stuff out. Patrick Hallihan from My Morning Jacket plays drums on her project.”

What is your song writing process? “I’ve always been an arranger, but never the primary thinker-upper. My technical ability as a songwriter is pretty advanced, but my primary inspiration is still naïve.

“My first step in writing a song is so abstract. It can be any number of things. Sometimes you hear a sound in your imagination and you want to get that sound out. Sometimes there’s an emotion you want to communicate and it starts there. Sometimes you hear a snippet of someone’s conversation and it sticks in your head and you think – that’s a hook.

“I’ve only been writing lyrics for a year and I have notebooks of trash that I hope no one ever sees. I don’t know if I should burn them or what,” Jesse laughed. He recommends “Writing Better Lyrics” as a resource for anyone interested in songwriting. “How much songwriting you do is dependent on the daily ritual of notebooking and journaling, and how much creative thought falls through you. You also have to be ok with throwing your garbage away. The ideas that stick around are the ones you work with.

“Instruments aren’t important in songwriting, it’s just about ideas,” he said. “I love how songwriters metabolize their life through their writing."

Favorite thing to eat in Austin – Quality Seafood: “I get something different every time. The food is great, but what I like about it the most is that it's not part of the “new” Austin food scene. I spent a lot of time working in food service, so I have a strong opinion about what restaurant experiences should be – and it’s more than just food. Quality Seafood is also one of the biggest cross sections of all the population in Austin: you see whatever Austin has to offer diversity wise every time you go.

Doug Strahan (Stray-Han; two syllables) drove to Austin to join the music scene in 1999. “It was warmer than Illinois and I wanted to learn how to play country,” says Strahan. Upon arrival, he picked up gigs, dug into records, and listened to everyone who was out playing at the time. Wearing a pair of boots he bought with spare change, Doug took off his hat and rolled a cigarette to start our interview.

“No one is untouched by Dylan or Townes,” says Strahan about some of his favorite artists as he takes a pull off his cig, “my guitar playing and song writing influences come from all over.” Inspired by Willie, the Allman Brothers, Rolling Stones, Charlie Rich, Jerry Reed, Tony Joe White, and a list of R&B that would go on for days, his music features a cross section of 70s country and soulful versions of old country songs. In addition to his main project Strahan and the Good Neighbors, Doug plays in three additional bands: Chili Cold Blood, The Memphis Strange and La Tampiquena. The genres he covers include Texas rock, TexMex, cosmic country and beyond.

Doug comes by his guitar talent naturally, as his dad Al plays lead guitar as well. “He (Al) got started in the 60s playing rock and roll and settled into country in the 70s,” says Doug with a genuine grin. “He played every moose lodge, VFW, and anywhere they had long tables and folding chairs where we lived in Illinois.”

Strahan plays a faded Les Paul with a no lacquered finish that he bought at Austin Vintage Guitars. “A buddy of mine that’s always looking for me let me know there was a guitar up there that I might like. I looked around but didn’t see it at first. When I finally saw it, it just looked like me and it belonged together, you know? It was plain, not super flashy… I have played that guitar every single night since then.” He plays the Les Paul in all of his four bands.

“Song writing is about taking phrases, and sayings and flipping them around, thinking of other ways to use it. I like to take a line and change it up,” says Doug. “I’ll Make it Rain” is his most requested song, otherwise he says anything by Gary Stewart are big crowd pleasers. About “I’ll Make it Rain,” he says that he was at point where he wasn’t sure where to take his career. “It’s a song about singing in dingy-ass bars and giving all you got. Between the name and the line “Angels in the Neon come and spread their wings”… people think it’s about a strip club. I’m not above singing about strip clubs but that song is not about strip clubs,” he laughs as he explains the lyrics to Letitia Smith and I in her studio where we are doing his photo shoot. The song is on his album Coal Black Dreams, and Late Night Schemes. You can listen to it here.

Tips for new artists starting out – “Stick with it. Do your goddamn homework.”

Favorite meal in Austin: Evangelines. For lunch get a shrimp po-boy and for dinner everything on the menu is worth your time. I’m not a big sweet tooth guy but they have a killer praline beignet. I also love Kim Fung, Vietnamese place on north Lamar and I get the pho vermicelli.

Favorite beer: Real Ale: Hans Pils

Fun tidbit: Doug was playing a back yard party in his neighborhood with some friends. The band didn’t have a name, but everyone lived close by – so the band name Strahan and the Good neighbors was a logical choice.

Doug says playing in “Tamp” with a bunch of cut ups is a good time. “Every time we get together, the guys have us laughing with good, with deep belly laughs.” Join us 2/26/17 for La Tampiquena to meet the guys, listen to some authentic local music and enjoy a mimosa or two.

DOUG'S MAIN PROJECT:

Strahan and the Good Neighbors (Doug formed in 2013)Genre: Country R & B – country lyrics with funkier beats